《考研英语阅读理解100篇 高分版》 Unit 10 - TEXT THREE

The partygoers who gathered on a small farm outside campus were not your typical gaggle of business school students. Sure, some would soon move on to plum jobs at investment banks and oil companies, but instead of traditionally celebrating their success, they opted for a “sellout party”. The event was held by students at the University of Michigan Erb Institute, a three-year, dual-degree program between the university's business and natural resources schools. Most of the institute's students are environmental advocates first, business people second, yet see the importance of money in making a difference. They represent a small but growing cadre of M.B.A.-wielding social activists who plan to bring about change, one PowerPoint presentation at a time.
Greg Shopoff, a third-year student at the Erb Institute, studied geology at Colorado College and briefly considered going into environmental law. But he found the legal profession too slow for his tastes and opted for business school. “If you can harness the impact of business for good,” he says, “you have the potential for larger-scale change in a shorter period of time.” More students have begun thinking like Shopoff, and business schools clearly see the shift. At the Erb Institute, director Tom Lyon notes the program has grown from five new students a year to as many as 25. The sheer number of business school classes like Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Environmental Strategy is up across the country, and school officials say students are asking for more conferences, lectures, and workshops on social and environmental stewardship. “This generation has grown up with a much higher global awareness,” says Kriss Deiglmeier, director of the Stanford School of Business Center for Social Innovation. “They see what kind of problems we're facing and want to be engaged in solving them.”
On the hiring side of the job market, recruiters from both non- and for-profits are looking increasingly for this type of multifaceted talent. In the non-profit sector, the push makes good business sense. More money is now at stake within mission-based organizations than just a couple of years ago, and the non-profits compete more fiercely with one another for funds and with corporations for government contracts. “A decade ago, the non-profits would not have appreciated as much how useful an M.B.A. would be,” says Sharon Oster, director of the Yale School of Management Program on Social Enterprise. “Now there are more opportunities for M.B.A. grads to move into that sector.”
Corporations provide the rest of the rising demand for these students, especially as they see that environmental values can help boost the bottom line. Both companies and environmental consulting groups are hiring. Environmental Defense—a non-profit advocacy group that partnered with FedEx to promote its hybrid electric fleet and also helped McDonald's phase out Styrofoam packaging—actively seeks out multidisciplinary employees who understand environmental issues but use business acumen to address them.
The intersection between financial know-how and social responsibility is not really new—just look at the number of CEOs on the boards of the non-profits and charities. But as M.B.A. programs have stepped up, schools serve not only as the nexus between corporate America and students but also as the link between business savvy and the need for social and environmental advocacy.
1. Students at the University of Michigan Erb Institute held the party probably in order to _____.
[A] promote the three-year, dual-degree program
[B] attract the attention of investment banks and oil companies
[C] work out measures to solve environmental problems
[D] raise a fund for environmental protection
2. Greg Shopoff chose to study business rather than environmental law because _____.
[A] he was more interested in business than in legal profession
[B] he thought business was a shortcut for him to become an influential person
[C] he wanted to solve the environmental problems through business that he can make better use of
[D] he thought legal procedures can not harness the impact of business for good
3. The non-profits need to hire more M.B.A. graduates now than a decade ago because _____.
[A] there are more vacancies in the non-profits than before
[B] the non-profits are now also doing business to earn more money
[C] the non-profits need to be more efficient so as to be more competitive
[D] the non-profits have to compete with the for-profits for funds now
4. The case of Environmental Defense implies that _____.
[A] the non-profit is united with the for-profit to make common efforts in environmental protection
[B] corporations are in great need of multifaceted organizations to work with companies on environmental issues
[C] non-profit organizations are switching more attention on environmental business
[D] non-profit organizations are helping business to be more environmentally friendly through business practices
5. By this passages, the author tries to show us that _____.
[A] business world is turning its attention to integrating business with environmental issues
[B] business corporations can be united with the non-profits in environmental protection
[C] multidisciplinary students are increasingly popular in the non-profits as well as in corporations
[D] there is a trend for business students to make use of business acumen for advocating environmental protection